Why Did I Suggest This?
by rattychipmunk
Summary: Ianto Jones never gets bored. But when one day he does, he plans a mystery tour for the team. And they're going to the beach. Owen, Tosh and Ianto still alive, but Anwen has been born, even though CoE and Miracle Day never happened. Better than it sounds!
1. Plotting

_Ok, so here's my first Torchwood fic. I'm quite glad to get round to this, seeing as I mostly write Primeval stuff. I must say, it was my friend Jo who I met on holiday who gave me the idea to write one, seeing as she watches TW and is going to check out my FF account. Well, this is for you Jo!_

_Ok, so this is a bit out of sync with the series. Owen, Tosh and Ianto are still alive, but Gwen has already had Anwen. Miracle Day or Children of Earth have not happened apart from Gwen's pregnancy._

**Torchwood - Why Did I Suggest This?**

Ianto was fed up. No, he wasn't fed up, he was bored. _Bored_. That was not a word he used often. Normally he found something to do, whether it was something interesting with Jack, inventing new coffee blends, sorting his sock drawer (no, not really) or generally organising everyone else's mess. Tosh was alright though. She actually knew the meaning of the word tidy.

Owen was a different matter. Yes, luckily he kept the medical room clean and hygienic (Ianto shuddered at the thought of Jack being in charge of anything that needed to be kept sterile) but if you wanted to find anything, you'd need to think like Owen. That thought also made Ianto very uncomfortable. Owen was currently clattering around downstairs, poking about inside the stomach of a half-fish-half-squirrel creature they had found dead the other day. Ianto didn't envy him. He didn't have the strongest stomach. That time in the Brecon Beacons hadn't helped that either. He swallowed quickly, straightened his tie and thought about Gwen's desk. She was not the tidiest of people either. It was a jumble of old newspapers, paperclips, elastic bands, plastic folders with reports in, photos of Rhys and Anwen. She was the cutest baby Ianto had ever seen, even though she is just a baby after all. He liked them though, but he suspected that would change if one was ever sick on one of his suits. Gwen also had a habit of not returning her mugs after using them, so there was usually a nice collection of dirty ones if ever Ianto fancied doing some washing up.

Jack's office was something else entirely. His filing system was a pile of paper under his desk. Nothing more advanced than that. Not that Ianto didn't enjoy going in there, of course.

But no, Ianto didn't want to sort anything out. He wanted a break! Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He was surprised by it, but he pulled a little notepad and matching pen out from his pocket and began to write his plans in shorthand. That way, if ever anybody felt like reading it, the secret would be safe. Maybe he should start writing his diary in shorthand too.

….

Gwen was asleep. Emphasis on WAS. Now she was rolling over to reach for her phone which was buzzing non-stop.

"What?" she said groggily as she answered. "Ianto, I was asleep, do you have any idea what time it is?"

Rhys opened his eyes as he heard a quiet voice from the phone, clearly identifiable as Ianto's eye-rolling tone, even at the barely audible volume. "What's he want now Gwen?"

"What?" Gwen exclaimed. "Eleven?" She shot upright and looked for the clock. It was under the bed. "Rhys did you knock the alarm clock off again?" She asked suspiciously

"Huh, what, I don't know!" he was still half asleep. He wasn't used to waking up instantly as Gwen now was. "Just go back to sleep love"

"It's eleven am you daft idiot! I was supposed to be in work three hours ago! It's alright for you, sleepy head, man-who-doesn't-work at the weekend!"

But Rhys was already asleep again.

She rolled her eyes, muttered a quick apology to Ianto down the phone and dragged herself out of bed.

…

"And where have _you _been?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow, clearly trying to sound like a teacher, but not pulling it off very well due to the fact he was trying not to laugh.

Gwen sighed. "I am so sorry Jack! The alarm clock broke again and I slept in, and me and Rhys went out for an Indian last night and then…"

Jack gave up and laughed "It's alright; you need a break once in a while. Where's Anwen then if you've been out gallivanting?"

"She's at my mum's. She'll probably be wearing that horrible pink dress again. Still, she and Dad love her to bits."

Ianto coughed quietly. "Gwen, can I have a word?"

…

"The BEACH?" Gwen practically screamed.

"SHUSH!" Ianto had to put his hand over her mouth. "Look, it's _supposed_ to be a surprise! I only told you so you could bring Rhys and Anwen!"

Gwen pulled away from his hand. "Yeah, sorry, just a bit shocked that's all. Ianto Jones, planning a team trip to the beach? Who would have thought it? Won't you get sand on your suit?"

"I won't be sitting on any actual sand. I'll bring a deckchair."

Gwen laughed "You are NOT wearing your suit to the beach tomorrow."

"Well of course not. But I'm still bringing my deckchair"

….

The next day Jack was sitting in his office staring at the wall. He was bored. He just wished something would happen. Not anything in the 'death and destruction' category, but a friendly visit from another world or even a Weevil hunt. As if his mind had just been read, Ianto came into the office with a smile on his face. "Get your coat Harkness, you've pulled."

"Mr Jones, what are you talking about?"

"We're going somewhere. All of us. Go and get in the SUV. More information later" Ianto winked and walked out the room, a grin on his face. Jack would not be able to resist a mystery tour, he was sure of that.

…

Owen groaned. What on Earth was in this alien's stomach? It seemed like a rubber tyre! All of a sudden Ianto appeared behind him and said "Boo" He jumped, blood flying onto his white scrubs and onto his face.

"What the bloody hell are youDOING Ianto?" he asked angrily, wiping alien innards off his eyebrow, feeling it get smeared over his forehead.

"Well I am here to inform you that we are all going somewhere. And it's a surprise."

"I'm not in the mood for a surprise. I'm _busy_." Owen said grumpily.

"It's not optional."

"Fine, whatever you say."

"You might want to have a wash first" Ianto added as he dodged a flying bit of red gunk. He popped his head back around the corner and said "Missed me!" Owen lobbed another bit of alien fish-squirrel at him, again missing. Ianto didn't feel quite himself, but he was oddly ok with that. He was having fun!

As Owen scrubbed his face and changed his clothes, Gwen approached Toshiko who was studying the computer screen very seriously, as usual. She noticed Gwen waiting to talk to her and saved her work. "Are you ok Gwen? You look a little worried."

"Worried? No! I just wanted to say… we're going somewhere today!"

"Where?" Tosh asked warily. She remembered the last time they had gone on a trip together. It ended up with her and Ianto almost getting butchered by a family of mentalists.

"It's a surprise." Gwen noticed the apprehensive look on her friend's face. "No, it's all good, no alien chasing, no mystery investigating; we're off duty for the day, so to speak."

Tosh brightened. "Ok! I'm in!" She smiled. She hoped she would be sitting next to Owen in the SUV.

…..

"Ready to go?" Ianto asked everyone, turning around in the driving seat, Jack sitting next to him. Gwen grinned, Tosh nodded, and Owen stared irritably out of the window. Tosh glanced over at Owen, and Gwen caught Ianto's eye. They both knew Owen liked sitting next to the window, so Gwen sat next to the other one, putting Tosh in the middle. Tosh certainly wouldn't complain, they both highly suspected she was in love with Owen. Owen was oblivious, as usual. This was going to be an interesting journey.

….

"Are we there yet?" Jack whined. Everyone stared at him. "What? Somebody had to say it!"

"And it was you, oh wise leader. Surprise surprise!"

"Careful Owen, you're starting to sound like Cilla Black." Ianto said, completely deadpan. Owen sat back in his seat and said something to Tosh, who tutted and rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

Gwen thought Ianto had got it right. The beach looked like a great one when she looked at it on the internet. Sure, it was quite far away, but Ianto had apparently been there as a kid or something. Rhys and Anwen were coming as well, but in their car. The others didn't know they were coming, so it would have been a bit suspicious for her to not come in the SUV. Plus Owen would probably have said something like 'If Gwen doesn't have to go then neither do I!'. He was cheering up a bit though, it seemed like it anyway. Gwen hoped he wasn't going to be miserable all day. She settled back in her seat and imagined her beautiful daughter having her first ice cream on the beach.

_To be continued…_

_I hope you liked it so far! And please click that little button down there and review, make my day and make this time writing worth it!_

_Ratty xxxxxx_


	2. Plans Into Action

Sorry I've taken so long to update! Here's chapter 2! I do not own Torchwood or Halo by Zizou Corder.

…

A few hours later, Tosh was asleep on Owen's shoulder, Owen was still staring grumpily out of the window, Jack was quietly singing "we're all going on a summer holiday", Gwen was reading Halo by Zizou Corder and Ianto was obviously still driving. All of a sudden Owen tutted "Oh no, you've not brought us to the seaside have you Harkness?"

"Me? I've not brought you anywhere! Ianto?" Jack was puzzled. He didn't like not knowing things after all. Tosh stirred and opened her eyes.

"We there?" she said blearily.

Ianto dragged out the sentence "Just about….." Gwen put her book in her bag and stretched her arms. As they drove round the corner they saw a large sandy bay. Ianto pulled into the pub car park right next to the beach and said "Well. This is us!"

Owen didn't seem very enthusiastic about it. "You've dragged me away from important work to bring us all to the BEACH? God I know it's boring making the coffee all the time, but some of us actually have things to do!"

"Oh shut up Owen" Gwen poked him in the ribs. "Ianto's being nice. And would you really rather pull bits of stomach out of an alien than spend the day at the seaside?"

"Let me think about that…"Owen replied, looking to the ceiling of the car, "There's little kids everywhere playing about and getting in the way, there's loads of people that really shouldn't be wearing wetsuits, sand flying about everywhere, kids screaming at their parents for ice creams, the sea is just cold…"

Jack cut him off. "Ok, ok, you just stay in the car Mr Grumpy." He opened the door. "Smell that sea air! You could live forever!" Nobody laughed. "Come on, that was a good one."

Ianto groaned. "Right guys, there's some beach stuff in the back of the car. Take your pick."

…

"I can't believe you went in my flat Ianto!" Owen hadn't cheered up.

"Ah well, there are probably a lot of things you wouldn't believe about Ianto…" Jack said cheekily.

Owen shuddered. "Ok, enough. Fine! I'll get changed but you're not getting me in the water. That's final." Owen grabbed his swimming trunks and stomped off to the pub to change in the toilets.

"He really does need to lighten up." Gwen whispered to Tosh. Tosh giggled. She liked Owen's silly moods – they made her laugh and sometimes she could even cheer him up if he got too irritable. Usually by making him food, but then again, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach… She just wished that she _would _touch his heart one day. Grabbing a swim bag Gwen had packed her (it wasn't just Owen whose flat had been ransacked by their colleagues), she headed off to get changed as well.

Gwen walked around the car to where Jack and Ianto were. "Ianto! I thought you said you weren't wearing a suit!"

Ianto looked a bit sheepish as he scraped at some stray sand with his shoes. "Well, I didn't want to arouse suspicion this morning, and anyway-"

"He looks good in a suit." Jack finished for him.

"I _was _going to say I feel quite comfortable in it, actually, SIR." Ianto said sarcastically. Gwen laughed. These two were like schoolboys sometimes.

"Look, Rhys is here!" Gwen ran towards the silver car. As it pulled up in a space, she opened the door and picked Anwen out of the seat.

"Oh, so no happy hello for the old husband then? No, I'm second best now Little Miss Perfect has come along!" Rhys joked. "But you are perfect, aren't you darling?" he added to the baby, whose eyes were wide as she gaped at her new surroundings from Gwen's arms.

"Look sweetheart, look at the sea? Isn't it gorgeous? Almost as gorgeous as" - Rhys looked expectant – "Johnny Daniels from the corner shop!" Rhys' face fell until Gwen was unable to keep a straight face.

"Stop teasing me woman, you're going to be the death of me!"

Jack and Ianto watched the family from the sidelines, smiles on their faces but both were deep in thought. "You'd like a family wouldn't you?" Jack asked Ianto. The Welshman looked shocked. He had often thought about children when he was with Lisa; a little girl he could spoil or a boy who might take after him... but he had given that up soon after Lisa's conversion.

"I don't know" Ianto said truthfully. "What about you?"

Jack was quiet for a moment, seemingly pondering how to answer the question. "I have already had children. Many times over probably. Many I don't even know about, many that haven't been born yet and many that will have already lived their lives and whose children may be out there today. But I've never had a family, not really. Of course, there was my first family, my mum, my dad…" he trailed off, tears in his eyes. Ianto spoke quickly.

"Yes, I know. I just meant…"

"I know. And maybe one day I'd like to have kids properly, you know, be there for them and watch them grow. But then one day I'd have to watch them die."

Gwen jogged over with Anwen. She had heard the conversation. "Happy day guys, remember. We're off duty, having fun, kicking back and all that. Here." She passed Anwen to Ianto, who stared at her and smiled widely. "Come on boys, we're at the beach!" She hopped over a low wall onto the warm sand, followed by Ianto and Rhys, with Jack bringing up the rear. Jack stopped for a second. He could remember the last time he had been on a beach, the worst day of his life. He was determined to give the sand a chance to redeem itself.


	3. Update

Okay, so I know I haven't updated anything in ages. Literally, ages. But I have a good reason. Two actually.

One, I've been doing my A Levels and been through the incredibly tough process of leaving the school that has been my home for the last seven years of my life.

But secondly, my other writing has taken up a lot of my spare time, as I now have my first novel available for Amazon Kindle. It's also available for the Kindle app if you have an Apple or Android device, so I'm asking you as a fellow writer, please will you buy my book? It's called Welcome To My Sorry Excuse For A Life, and you will be able to find it on Amazon just by typing that (obviously, I can't do links on FanFiction) or you can type my name, Zoe Badder, in and that will find it too.

If you type my name in, you will also find my new book of poetry, Growing Up. So this is a message to all my loyal readers and reviewers to say please support me as I try to break into the writing world. I will attempt to update my stories when I can, but I am now busy with work and writing my sequel, as well as promoting my new releases.

So, please download both my books, and give them a read. The blurb for my book is here:

Aqua Green, fourteen - that's just a few basics about me. Another thing you NEED to know is that NOTHING ever runs smoothly for me! My mum's just invaded my school, my sister is a MASSIVE pain, I have a BEAVER for a brother (well, practically) and I am TOTALLY in love with a guy who is TOTALLY out of my league! What's a girl to do? Well, plenty. A bit of good, a selection of bad, and a bucketful of downright embarrassing (don't even mention the sun lounger and the swimming pool!) as you will find out in my diary of terrible and hilarious truths.

And my poetry book is a collection of poems that come straight from the depths of my heart.

I hope you enjoy reading my book, and please give it a good review on Amazon to hopefully encourage a publisher to finally accept it and to get my book into print.

Sorry this wasn't an update as such, but I guess you could say it's an update on my life instead!

Oh, and also, I've got an official Facebook page - Zoe Badder - so you could go and give that a 'like' as well if you would :)

Thank you to you all, and you know I still love you all for reading and reviewing.

Ratty (Zoe) xxxxxx


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